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Connolly's Legacy Prominent in First NYC Irish Cultural Festival

James Connolly – the Irish rebel and revolutionary labor leader who inspired the founders of TWU Local 100 – will be a significant focus of New York City’s first annual Irish cultural festival.

Cuala NYC is an ambitious and sweeping endeavor with more than two dozen events, ranging from a William Butler Yeats play being performed on a beach in Coney Island, to live music at an Irish pub in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, to poetry readings on an East River ferry boat. Many activities will explore the important role that New York City played in Ireland’s historic 1916 Rising, now in its centennial anniversary. At the same time, the festival will celebrate the indelible mark the Irish left on NYC, festival organizer Susan McKeown said.

"The 1916 Rising would not have happened without New York,” McKeown, a Grammy Award winning Irish Folk singer, said. “CualaNYC is inspired by the historic and cultural connections between the two places and I felt it was especially important to remember James Connolly in our events."

Connolly came to New York City in 1902 and lived in the United States for approximately 8 years, spreading his doctrine of industrial unionism through his writing and speeches at places like the Great Hall of Cooper Union. Workers are strongest when organized by industry and not fragmented into many smaller groups by trade and job title, Connolly stressed. The message resonated with Mike Quill decades later as he organized transit workers and founded the Transport Workers Union in 1934.

Cuala NYC will include “James Connolly’s New York” on May 12^th at Cooper Union, a tribute with performances by New York Irish musicians, writers and storytellers. Bagpiper bands from various unions will perform in Union Square to honor Connolly on May 19, and both celebrities and members of the public will be invited to address the crowd from a soapbox as Connolly so famously did himself.

Connolly – and TWU founder Mike Quill - also will be featured in a historical comic book being produced by The Nerve Centre in Derry, Ireland, for distribution here. Local 100 is contributing towards the production costs.

Secretary-Treasurer Phillips Honored for Contributions to Transit Diversity

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No one is more concerned about bringing young people who represent the diversity of New York City into the MTA than TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips.

No one is more concerned about bringing young people who represent the diversity of New York City into the MTA than TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips. This was shown once again on April 22, when at the conclusion of a one-day seminar at the Union Hall by the TDC-MIT Transportation and Infrastructure Summit, Brother Phillips was presented with an award by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The ceremony at Boro Hall, which also honored NYCT President Ronnie Hakim and Port Authority Exec Director Patrick Foye, featured remarks by Earl Phillips. The day's seminar showcased both high school students from the Bronx and college graduates from MIT, all of whom are pursuing careers in transit. Mr. Phillips was introduced by Dwayne C. Sampson, Founder and CEO of the Transportation Diversity Council.

Danny's youngest daughter, Valerie, receives a wreath honoring her late father from Track Division Chairman Paul Navarro

We Remember Danny Boggs; Track Worker Died in the Line of Duty

A memorial service for Track Worker Danny Boggs, who was killed by a train nine years ago, was held at the 59^th St. Columbus Circle station on Monday. “Danny was a veteran,” Paul Navarro, Chairman of TWU Local 100 Track Division said, standing next to a wreath of flowers brought to the hub by the union. “He knew the job inside out. But on that day nine years ago it didn’t matter.”

Boggs, 41, the married father of three children, was hit by a train April 27, 2007 as he set up perimeter lighting for an overnight construction job on an express track at the station. The track was scheduled to be closed to train traffic at 11 p.m. for the construction project but implementation of the General Order was delayed – a development not conveyed to Boggs. He was struck at 11:20 p.m. by a No. 3 train sent through the area.

“The passage of time doesn’t make these memorials any easier,” Navarro said at the memorial service. “They certainly are not easier for Bernadette and her children."

"Some might ask, ‘Why do we keep coming back here every year?” asked Navarro. We do so because the day we stop is the day we all start taking our safety for granted. It will be the day we begin to be indifferent about the safety of our co-workers. We cannot let that happen. We can not let down our guard.” After Rabbi Harry Berkowitz said a prayer, Bernadette Boggs thanked those who came out to remember her husband. “He was a wonderful man,” she said. Bernadette was flanked by the couple’s children: Kristen, 22; Danny Jr., 18; and Valerie, 14.

Local 100 will hold another memorial 11 a.m. Friday at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn where trackworker Marvin Franklin was fatally struck by a train on April 29, 2007, just five days after Boggs’ tragic death. Franklin was 55 years old.

In photo: MTA Chaplain Rabbi Harry Berkowitz talks to family members about the events of Danny's death and his legacy. IB Image

MaBSTOA Amsterdam Depot Retirees Have a Ball at Eastwood Manor Reunion

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On Sunday, April 24 – a beautiful spring day – a host of retirees from Amsterdam Depot enjoyed the cameraderie of friendship. MTA CEO of Buses Darryl Irick attended and worked the tables along with Retiree Director Mike Tutrone, former Director Mike Fitzpatrick, and of course our dedicated staffers Shalena Lindsay and Victoria Griss. A great time and a great breakfast was had by all. And we'll do it again next year!

TWU Local 100 Stands With Verizon Strikers

Verizon is taking out full-page ads in major newspapers insisting that Verizon workers have nothing to strike about -- but the reality is, of course, different. TWU Local 100 members are joining CWA workers on the picket line at the Verizon store just down the block from the Union Hall on Montague Street in downtown Brooklyn. We're also sending provisions to the strikers.

Here's what the CWA has to say:

Yesterday, nearly 40,000 brave working people from Massachusetts to Virginia went on strike to protect good jobs and ensure quality service. It is the largest national strike in recent years. Verizon workers are striking for more than a fair contract; they’re fighting to protect middle class jobs. As workers in Massachusetts told The Boston Globe

“Without the union, 'these jobs would be off-shored in a heartbeat,' said Bonasoro, 44, of Weymouth. 'Nobody chooses this. What we’re doing here is we’re protecting American jobs. They [Verizon] want to constantly off-shore, outsource good middle-class jobs that support our community. There’s growing public sentiment against corporate greed.'

Bryan Phillips, a third generation Verizon worker from Pembroke, said he fears for his job every time a contract is up. 'I didn’t want to go on strike, none of us did, but at the same time, enough’s enough. Not just for Verizon but everywhere,' said Phillips, 38, who has been a technician for 18 years. 'You don’t see anyone [in other companies] go on strike, because they’re all afraid. They’re afraid they’re going to lose their jobs. But if we don’t fight for these jobs, these jobs won’t be here.'"

Verizon workers not only got the attention of the company, customers and local communities; they have prompted important discussions about Verizon's problematic business decisions, support for unions and what the Washington Post calls a "sense of empowerment among workers who struggled for years to reap the gains of the economic recovery and which could mark a political and economic shift in the balance between employers and their employees."

Let's stand with Verizon workers until the strike is settled. Make a point of visiting your local strike line and showing your support.

Rousing Support For Jobs and Labor, as Clergy Meets with TWU

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Public Advocate Tish James gave us the welcome news that Jesus was a union member as TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray broke bread with politicians and faith leaders at the Union Hall this morning. President Samuelsen focused attention on the jobs deficit for our youth, our Recording Secretary read from Scripture, and the Public Advocate gave a rousing talk on the importance of labor unions in the struggle for a better life. The third annual Local 100 Labor and Clergy breakfast brought out an interfaith crowd of ministers, as well as representatives from the Community Service Society and Jobs to Move America, who got into the specifics on how to benefit riders and workers.

TWU Local 100 Endorses Bernie Sanders for President

TWU Endorses Bernie Sanders

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TWU Local 100 – representing 42,000 workers – endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president Wednesday at the Union Hall in Brooklyn.

“In Bernie Sanders, we see a kindred spirit,” TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said to an enthusiastic crowd of about 300 transit workers. “Bernie Sanders has been fighting against the ‘powers that be’ in this country on behalf of all American workers his entire life. That’s what this country needs. That’s what American workers need. A true champion of our cause!”

TWU Local 100 represents 42,000 members in the NYC area, including about 38,000 who operate, maintain and repair the NYC Transit bus and subway network.

Sanders told transit workers that he opposed the “disastrous” trade agreements that resulted in millions of jobs being exported to other countries. “When I grew up in Brooklyn, as a kid, you could go out and get a job,” Sanders said. “There were a lot of manufacturing plants. You didn’t get rich but you made a middle class living. You could take care of your family. We got to reverse the disastrous set of trade policies.”

Local 100 members safely move more than 8 million New Yorkers a day. The vast majorityf live in the city’s five boroughs. “We are blue collar New York,” Samuelsen said. “Transit workers are the backbone of New York’s communities. We work here and we live here. America needs a jolt. New York needs a jolt. Working families need a jolt. ‘Business as usual’ is not about to give us the jolt we need.”

TWU Local 100’s Executive Board voted 42-1 to endorse Sanders.

Friedrichs and the Freeloading Ten

Mooch. Leech. Freeloading bum.

Parasite on two legs.

Human sponge.

So many words, so little time.

It’s hard to settle on just one word or phrase for workers like Rebecca Friedrichs and the other nine California teachers who don’t want to pay a fee supporting their union’s core functions like negotiating contracts with raises and representing workers in disciplinary hearings.

In the lawsuit, Friedrichs v California Teachers Association, the teachers argue it’s a matter of free speech. Friedrichs and the other plaintiffs don’t agree with everything the union leadership does, so they shouldn’t have to pay a so-called “agency fee.”

Call them the Freeloading Ten, and put them in the category of workplace fringe curmudgeons: the pain-in-the-ass few who just have go against the grain, who wouldn't pay for something - anything - if they don’t have to, even if it was detrimental to the greater good, their larger community of workers, even if that forces others to shoulder a greater burden.

Friedrichs v CTA had rightwing fatcats and ideologues giddy with anticipation. They fully expected a 5-4 Supreme Court decision restricting how unions collect revenues, which would reduce their effectiveness and further diminish their role in society.

God forbid there be a real check-and-balance mechanism for the little guy, and gal, doing all the shoveling and lifting and trucking for corporate and government executives, many of whom would much rather to issue decrees without opposition.

A 5-4 majority from a conservative block of justices would have forced public sector unions to provide services - like negotiating contracts and enforcing safety rules– to non-members in the bargaining unit for free, potentially opening the floodgates to mooches like the Freeloading Ten.

That didn’t happen. But only because the big justice in the sky called Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia home. Scalia, 79, passed away in his sleep in February of natural causes, after an afternoon of Quail hunting in Texas.

Laws in 23 states allow public sector unions to collect “agency fees” from workers who join their labor organizations, and from non-members who also benefit from union activities like negotiating contracts.

By law, unions can’t spend the money on traditional political purposes like supporting individual candidates for elected office. Separate union dues that members pay cover those expenses.

Peggy Browning Awards Showcase TWU's Commitment to Labor Law Students

APRIL 7 -- Local 100 purchased two tables at the prestigious Peggy Browning Fund awards dinner which honors labor attorneys and leaders, and builds resources to encourage and recruit new lawyers to join the labor movement. President Samuelsen received an award along with longtime labor attorney Carol O'Rourke Penningson and noted labor arbitrator Howard Edelman. Picking up the award for Samuelsen, who was out of town, was our own Shannon Poland. In his address, Poland relayed President Samuelsen's respect and appreciation to Edelman for arbitrating cases on the merits and giving transit workers a fair shake. For his part, Edelman, on accepting his award, recalled the time when he got out of his car at the College Point Depot and was confronted by a rank and file Bus Operator. It turned out what the TWU member wanted was to thank the arbitrator for saving his job.

Many of TWU Local 100's friends and allies in the legal profession were on hand, including principals of Colleran, O'Hara & Mills and Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, among many others. Denis Engel, Counsel to Local 100, introduced Shannon Poland. The packed dinner was enlivened by the presence of many young lawyers who have been on mentoring fellowships with labor organizations and have participated in regional workshops about labor law in law schools across the country. Fully 53.5% of Peggy Browning Fund alumni are practicing law in workers' rights organizations and related public interest industries. TWU Local 100 salutes the Peggy Browning Fund for doing so much to create and support the next generation of labor advocates in the legal profession.

At the dinner for the Union (pictured) were Officers and Directors along with the union's senior attorney, Ursula Levelt.

Governor's Win on $15/hour is Also a Win for TWU Local 100

A large turnout by TWU officers and rank and file at the Javits Center on Monday gave credit to Governor Cuomo for his successful passage of a law making $15 an hour the minimum wage in New York City by the end of 2018. It was also a reflection of the Union's long and ongoing fight for better wages for our members toiling as Call Agents at GCS/Access-A-Ride, who will see their wages -- now at $12 and less -- rise in tandem, unless we notch a higher figure in contract negotiations.

TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips was joined by other officers including MABSTOA VP Richard Davis. Also present were GCS workers including longtime employees and Shop Stewards Sandra Lennon and Patricia Edwards. Cuomo's bill makes $15 an hour mandatory first for businesses with more than ten employees, and then phases in that rate for smaller businesses in 2019 and for Long Island and Westchester County in 2021. In the rest of the state, the minimum will increase to $12.50 by the end of 2020, mainly because of wage scales for agricultural laborers upstate. Read Governor Cuomo's letter to Sec-Treasurer Earl Phillips here. Sent back in October, it highlights our continuing fight for $15.